Whumptober 2019 - 16 - Pinned Down
by DinerGuy
Summary: 2018 reboot. The branch resting on Katsumoto's shoulders was starting to restrict his breathing, but he just couldn't get out from under it. Plus, his head was killing him, and he really just wanted to go home, take a nap, and forget about the day he'd ever met Thomas Magnum.


_A/N: __Can y'all believe the month's already half over? Where has the time gone?_

_Standard disclaimers apply._

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Gordon Katsumoto was rethinking a lot of things at the moment, not the least of which was his association with a certain private investigator named Thomas Magnum. The only reason Katsumoto been close enough to get pinned under the stupid tree when it fell anyway was because Magnum had convinced him of a possible body buried in the woods. And, somehow, Katsumoto had allowed himself to be talked into following up on the lead—hunch—whatever.

And, now, here he was: stuck under a fallen tree, head pounding, definite cracked—if not broken—ribs, and an injured leg that he couldn't quite self-diagnose at the moment. The only good part of it all was that he'd gotten hit by several large limbs and not the trunk itself; he didn't even want to think about what would have happened had the heaviest portion of the tree landed on him.

To Magnum's credit, the other man _had _tried to get Katsumoto free, but the tree was too heavy. Plus, the efforts had only served to increase the weight currently holding the HPD detective down, so that idea had been quickly abandoned. But, with that failure, they'd both acknowledged the need to call for help.

Unfortunately, there was no cell service in the area, so Magnum had set off down the trail to try to place a call. That had been at least three hours ago—maybe more; Katsumoto's internal clock seemed to be a little off with the whole pounding-head thing—and, although he knew it could take some time for Magnum to pick his way back down the trail, he was also starting to get worried.

Well, not _worried,_ exactly. More like concerned that something had happened to Magnum and that no one would find them for days. People knew where they had gone, but the forest was huge; it would take time for a search party to locate them whenever they finally started looking.

When Magnum's voice suddenly broke the quiet, the tree limb on Katsumoto's back was the only thing that kept him from jumping in surprise.

"Hey! You doing okay?"

He honestly wasn't sure if he was glad to hear the voice or not, but he was hurting too much to think about it, so he settled for vaguely irritated. "Magnum?" he growled. "What took so long?"

"I appreciate your concern; I really do," Magnum replied, and Katsumoto could _hear _the smirk even if he couldn't actually see the other man at the moment. "But it's just a scratch; I'll be fine."

Because that's what Katsumoto was concerned about right then. "Tell me you called for help."

"Uh, yeah…" Magnum replied.

Katsumoto frowned at the slowness of his words. "You don't sound sure."

Leaves crunched underfoot as the P.I. moved closer. "Oh… No, I'm sure," Magnum said. "They're gonna come get us, but it might take an hour or two. Apparently they have to get a chopper up here because of the steep trail."

He coughed then, and Katsumoto frowned as he heard the way the sound seemed to hitch. Between Magnum's halting replies and the way his breath sounded, there was definitely something wrong…

When Magnum dropped down heavily to sit beside Katsumoto, the detective shifted his head to glance at the other man. And that was when he realized just how bad off Magnum really seemed to be.

Blood was smeared down the side of Magnum's face, originating from somewhere past his hairline—Katsumoto couldn't see where—and the man seemed to be favoring his left arm. Then there was also the way Magnum's chest seemed to be heaving oddly whenever he exhaled… That couldn't be good.

"Magnum, are you okay?" Katsumoto asked. He tried to adjust his weight, only slightly succeeding under the weight of the tree branches. "What happened?" The P.I. had definitely been in better shape when he'd left to find a signal.

Magnum tilted his head. "I… don't remember?"

The fact that it came out as a question and not a statement bothered Katsumoto almost as much as the words themselves. "Well, you didn't get hit by the tree when it came down, so what happened?"

"I might have tripped and rolled down that embankment about a mile back," Magnum offered. He said it simply, as if recounting some mundane event and not explaining how he'd nearly killed himself.

Katsumoto sighed and tried to shift his weight again. The branch resting on his shoulders was starting to restrict his breathing, but he just couldn't get out from under it. He hoped rescue would arrive sooner rather than later. Plus, his head was _killing _him, and he really just wanted to go home, take a nap, and forget about the day he'd ever met the private investigator.

Glancing over at Magnum again, Katsumoto noticed how the other man was staring straight ahead now, almost unblinking. That wasn't good, not with the obvious head wound coupled with whatever other injuries he'd sustained when he'd taken his tumble off of a cliff. "Hey, Magnum."

Blinking, Magnum turned to look his way. "Hm?"

"You gotta stay with me," Katsumoto urged. "Hey, come on. Keep your eyes open."

"Right." Magnum blinked again and rubbed a hand over his face. "I, uh… I'm just… just really tired."

Katsumoto clenched his jaw. "I know, and I'm sorry. But it's only for a little longer, right? You said help was on the way."

"Yeah… yeah, I called for help. They're gonna come get us, but it might take an hour or two." he shrugged. "Apparently they have to get a chopper up here because of the steep trail."

This wasn't good. "Magnum, you're repeating yourself."

"…I am?"

Katsumoto would have pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration if it hadn't been so uncomfortable to move his hands. "Hey, man, come on. Let's talk; we have to keep you awake until help gets here."

"Me? I'm… fine. I'm just, uh, really tired."

"Magnum, you're slurring your words, and yes, you do keep repeating yourself. Trust me; you're not fine." If only he could get out from underneath this tree, things would be a whole lot easier.

And then, as if an unseen hand had pushed him over, Magnum gasped a short breath and crumpled to the ground.

"Magnum!" Katsumoto yelled. He struggled against the tree limbs again, as if he could somehow succeed where he'd failed umpteen times before, but he couldn't get free. His eyes darted back to where the P.I. was slumped on his side. From Katsumoto's angle of view, it was hard to tell if the man's chest was even moving. _"Magnum!"_

Still no response.

His headache flared as he tried to free himself, moving from a dull throbbing to full-blown agony that overtook everything else for a solid minute. White light danced across his vision, roaring filled his ears, and he felt like he might be sick.

Katsumoto closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to relegate the pain to the back of his mind so he could focus on the situation at hand. Slowly, the rolling of his stomach calmed, and the sound in his ears started to quiet—and then it began to grow once again. Only this time… this time it was different. Less of a rushing roar and more of a repetitive _whirr…_

The chopper!

His eyes flew open, and he blinked as his eyes refocused. Magnum was still lying on the ground nearby, but there was the definite sound of a helicopter close by—and getting closer.

Katsumoto shook his head and grinned. Help was coming. Magnum must have made the call before his little detour.

His headache was increasing again, driven by the continuous sound of the chopper's blades, and Katsumoto allowed himself a moment to close his eyes and relax. Help was coming; he just had to hold on a little longer…

And then, the next thing he knew, there were hands on him, holding him steady, and then the weight on his back was gone. More hands, then, moving him, prodding at his side, strapping something stiff around his neck. He wanted to look around and take it all in, but his head just hurt so much…

Something firm slid underneath him, and then he was moving…

He slowly blinked his eyes open, making out shadowy forms hovering just above him.

"Hey, sir, just lie still. We're going to get you to the hospital, okay?" someone said. "You're going to be just fine."

An image of Magnum, bleeding and lying unresponsive on the forest floor flashed across his mind, and he swallowed. He needed to know… sure it had been the other man's fault any of this had happened, but it was also because of Magnum that anyone had found them so soon. "Is… Magnum…?" he managed to croak out at least part of his question.

"Your friend's alive," a man's voice assured him. "He's pretty banged up, and he's still unconscious, but he's going to be okay."

Katsumoto couldn't quite find the energy to correct the guy that Magnum was _not_ his 'friend,' so he just let out a breath and closed his eyes again. The darkness that he'd been ignoring for so long washed over him, and he finally gave into it.

But not before he resolved to never again follow Magnum into the middle of nowhere on a wild hunch.

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_Fin._


End file.
